


Strikethrough

by KillHitlerAgain



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College, Developing Friendships, Diary/Journal, Dr. Mystery AU, Drabble Collection, Gen, Rated T for language, School, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-27 22:26:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14435418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillHitlerAgain/pseuds/KillHitlerAgain
Summary: A collection of journal entries from Stanley's college days.





	1. 9-2-1970

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collection of loosely connected drabbles that take place in my Dr. Mystery AU.
> 
> Essentially, Bill contacted Ford as a teenager instead of as an adult. He fell in and the government confiscated all the evidence so Stan has to start from scratch when it comes to getting him back. 
> 
> I'll probably update once a day for a little while until I get bored.

~~Diary~~ Journal Entry, September 2nd, 1970

 

~~Dear Diary,~~

 

~~Dear Journal,~~

 

~~Hey Journal,~~

 

Orientation was today. I think ‘mostly bug free dorms’ is an understatement. Or an overstatement. Whichever one it is that means that I found a cockroach the size of my hand in the shower this morning ~~and had to pretend I didn’t scream like a little girl.~~

 

My roommate seems to have already moved in but I didn’t actually see him at all. He’s probably trying to avoid being in the dorm as much as possible (Smart Choice). Based on the machines strewn across the top bunk, though, it seems he’s making himself as right as home as possible. And he’s a nerd. Great. ~~(Stop thinking about that.)~~ ~~(He's nothing like him.)~~

 

P.S. The stains on the paper are not tears. I just spilled some water. Accidentally. In small droplets strewn across the paper.


	2. 9-4-1970

Journal Entry, September 4th, 1970

 

Met my roommate yesterday. Well, technically it was Wednesday night, but I was already in bed trying to sleep by the time he got back (Not smelling like booze and with a lot of books in his arms. Not sure whether to be relieved or roll my eyes at the fact that he’s  ~~ much dorkier than even my brother ~~ a total nerd.)

 

His name is Fiddleford McGucket and man, this guy is much weirder than I thought. He plays the banjo while he studies and honestly it’s one of the most annoying things I’ve ever heard. Not that he’s bad at playing it but also why is he playing it? He does realize he’s not alone, right? I was tempted to throw my pillow at him but I’m pretty sure that’d just piss him off and I think I’d rather live with someone that doesn’t hate my guts for the next few months.

 

Glad he at least isn’t some stuck up asshole, though. In fact I think he’s probably the opposite of stuck up. Not sure if he owns a single shirt without some sort of stain on it. He also has a chewing tobacco habit but I don’t care as long as he spits in the trash and doesn’t try to tell me off for smoking cigarettes in our room. I dealt with enough of that at home. (‘Yes, ma, I promise I’ll try to quit.’ Nevermind the fact she smoked two packs a day.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there is anything specific you'd like to hear about, tell me! I have a few more drabbles done but I'd love some ideas for what else to write.


	3. 9-11-1970

Journal Entry, September 11th, 1970

 

My brother  ~~ was ~~ is the smartest person I’ve ever met. Like, I haven’t met many smart people (I don’t think anyone that could get a job anywhere else would willingly teach at Backupsmore), but I think that even if Albert Einstein somehow came back as, like, a hyper-intelligent zombie or something and invited me out to lunch my brother would still probably be at least a mile ahead of him in the intelligence department.

 

My roommate, though, he’s probably at #2. Over the last week he’s been working on this robot that’s, like, more advanced than some stuff I’ve seen in comic books. I don’t even think it’s for a class, I think he’s just building it for fun. I kind of want to ask if I can play with it but I’m kind of worried I’ll end up breaking it somehow.

 

Speaking of class, this work is kicking my butt. I don’t understand 90% of it, and this is just the basics. Not sure how I’m gonna get through eight years of this. And I can’t even cheat! I actually need to know this stuff, that’s the entire point of being here. A fancy degree by itself isn’t going to  ~~ get my brother back ~~ cut it.

 

I gotta keep going, though. I can’t let this get to me. ~~ For Ford. ~~


	4. 9-26-1970

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little bit shorter, but the next two are a little bit longer so I think that makes up for it. 
> 
> I still would love some ideas for what you want to see, by the way!

Journal Entry, September 26th, 1970

 

I hate this. I don’t know how people do this. ~~ I don’t know how I ever got it into my head that I could succeed in college. ~~ (Don’t think that. I need to do this.)

 

I had my first quiz yesterday and I’m 99% sure I failed. I had no idea what I was doing. I kept trying to study but it’s like everything goes in through my eyes and out my ass. Not to mention actually having to read it in the first place. I think all my teachers were right about me being a hopeless idiot.

 

Pretty sure I need new glasses, as well. I can’t read anything the professor is writing on the board and it’s making things pretty hard. (I swear my eyesight had gotten worse since I was a kid.) Not sure how I’m going to afford them, though. I probably need to stop eating so much. Or maybe I’ll just live off of credit cards for the next few months. Geez.


	5. 10-5-1970

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need to stop updating at 3am.

Journal Entry, October 5th, 1970

 

I finally got around to buying new glasses a few days ago. I was right, my eyes have gotten worse, although the doctor reassured me saying it has nothing to do with the fact I went so long without them.  ~~ (That’s one screw-up that wasn’t my fault at least.) ~~

 

I am  not looking forward to looking like a nerd, though. I went most of my life trying to be cool and I’m not about to stop now. But I guess that’s the price I pay for being able to read what the professors write.  ~~ (God, am I turning into a nerd?) ~~

 

In other news, old Fiddle-weirdo noticed how much I was struggling and offered to help me study. That is probably at least 100x more embarrassing than the glasses ever could be. I wanted to turn him down but no matter how much I don’t want to admit it, I’m pretty sure I actually do need the help. As long as we don’t gotta do any of this in a public place, I’m willing to bite my tongue.

 

I seriously can’t believe this, though. It’s been, like, a month since classes started and I already need a tutor. (Do college students even use tutors? Or am I just the stupidest person here?) I mean, I guess I’m at the very least lucky I didn’t have to go search for one myself. I don’t know if I could have brought myself to do that. 

 

~~ (Still don’t know why he offered to help me, though.) ~~


	6. 10-7-1970

Journal Entry, October 7th, 1970

 

Fiddlesticks and I just finished up our first study session together.  He asked me about my plans for college and I think he was pretty surprised when I told him I was going to be working towards getting a PhD. It wasn’t, like, bad surprised though, like when I told my old physics teacher about it and he stared at me like I grew another arm right out the center of my forehead. It was more like he was surprised I cared enough to try, which I mean, honestly, understandable. I probably wouldn’t be here if I didn’t need to be.

 

He says he’s working towards a mechanical engineering degree, but personally I’m not sure why he’s even bothering. Not, because, like, I don’t think he can do it, but like, the opposite. I’ve seen the kind of stuff he can build and I don’t think he belongs in a place like this. When I asked why he decided to go to Backupsmore of all schools, he said he just couldn’t afford anywhere else. ~~(I know how that is, but why he couldn’t just get a scholarship is a mystery to me.)~~

 

Told me about his family, too. Said he grew up on a hog farm in Tennessee with, like, 6 siblings. (I don’t know how anyone could live with that.) Apparently, he was the only one of them to go off to college, since his parents only had enough money to help pay for one kid’s higher education and his brothers and sisters all agreed he’d probably be the one that wanted it the most. Then he spent the next hour or so telling me stories about all the trouble they used to get up to, like the time he built a robot suit for a pig and ‘accidentally’ let it loose around town.

 

I liked hearing about his family, but the whole time I was worried he was going to ask about mine and I wouldn’t know what to say. He didn’t, though, so I guess he might have realized it’s sort of a sensitive topic. Either that, or I should start coming up with a convincing lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is all I have for right now. If there is anything you want to see, tell me!


End file.
